How to organize household hunting gear

Jana Randall is a busy mother, loving wife, and active career woman from Arizona. In her free time, Jana writes to cover topics on home, living, and pets, while also working full time and blogging. As interests, Jana enjoys reading, wr...

Ready for the hunt

Whether you're hunting ducks or deer, one thing remains the same: All of that hunting gear can really get messy. Here are four easy ways to stay organized before, during and after hunting season.

1

Clean out

If the hunting gear hasn't been cleaned out in a while, make sure you do this with your husband prior to organizing his equipment. Since a lot of items can be duplicated, see if he really needs 10 safety harness straps or five different camouflage coats. If he's afraid to part with the items, grab a storage box and put excess items in the attic or basement. Just stick a note in your new organization method indicating where the excess items are in order to avoid buying more of what you already have.

Clear storage bins work great when cleaning out gear, because you can see what is going into the bin. Go big with this Hefty 66-quart bin so you have space for larger items (Target, $63).

2

Designate space

Your next step in organizing hunting gear is to designate a space for the items. Choose a place in the garage or in the home that can store the equipment year-round. If there isn't any space in these two places, consider purchasing an outdoor shed specifically for the equipment. Since some items can rust in the winter or in severe climates, ensure that you locate the shed in a safe place or cover it with an additional tarp as an extra safety precaution. And remember, if there are any firearms or other life-threatening pieces of gear, guarantee that the space can be locked up properly with a deadbolt or Master Lock.

Some storage sheds have options for inside racks and other methods of organization. Find one with these options so you can buy the add-ons if your husband's hunting collection grows (which it probably will). We like this Suncast Sutton resin storage shed, which is built to resist any weather conditions (Home Depot, $599).

3

Find a medium

To functionally organize gear, choose a medium to stow away clothing, backpacks, radios, camping equipment and more. Whichever method you choose, just make sure to label what is inside for an easy method that both you and other members of the family can use.

Shelving

Choose a shelving system that is sturdy enough to hold the heaviest gear. Many hunters prefer heavy-duty metal storage shelves that can hold substantial weight and are easy to clean. Use open shelving or bookcases so you can stack gear in an easy-to-see manner.

Clear plastic boxes

Clear plastic boxes are the most practical way to organize hunting gear. Because they're available in varying sizes, you can stow away like-sized gear that is easy to view, retrieve and take along on a hunting trip. And because they're plastic, the boxes are simple to clean inside and out.

Storage bins

If you're storing gear inside the home, you can also use a storage bin as your method of organization. A storage bin is a more attractive method of storage, but the disadvantages are that it's not as easy to see what's inside the bin, and the bin cannot be taken on a trip (unless you don't mind replacing a drenched or muddy bin after every trip).

Have an order

Instead of just stowing hunting gear away so everything looks neat, make sure you have some type of order. Whether you organize it in the same manner as your husband's favorite hunting store, by the season in which the gear is for or color coordinated for your own piece of mind, having an order to the hunting gear will avoid unnecessary madness in the storage space.